Why do we hiccup? Some surprising unsolved mysteries and the bias against religion

The humble hiccup has been one of science’s enduring mysteries. People from before birth to old age get hiccups from time to time. So do cats and rats. No one knows why or how to stop them.

In fact, an internist performed a five-year study involving fifty-four hospital patients with hiccups, attempting a wide range of treatments. None proved effective. 

Now a study led by University College London may have solved the mystery. Researchers monitoring thirteen newborn babies found that hiccupping triggered a large wave of brain signals that could aid their development. This brain activity might help babies learn to monitor their breathing muscles, leading to the ability to control their breathing voluntarily. 

However, hiccups have no known advantage for adults. Why, then, do we persist in them? 

It’s still a mystery. 

Is a recession coming? 

In other news, more than half of the world’s wealthiest investors are preparing for a drop in financial markets before the end of 2020, according to UBS Global Wealth Management. Investors are worried about the 2020 presidential election and the trade dispute between the US and China. 

In a survey of more than 3,400 high-net-worth individuals, more than 79 percent think markets are moving toward a period of higher volatility. About 55 percent of respondents expect a “significant drop” in the markets over the next fourteen months. 

However, the study was conducted between August and October following a volatile third quarter. Recent signs are already pointing to a firming US economy in the fourth quarter. A strong US labor market, robust consumer spending, an improving housing sector, and optimism on trade talks with China have combined with better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a supportive interest-rate policy from the Federal Reserve. 

So, will the financial markets see a significant drop in the near future? 

It’s still a mystery. 

The “spiritual…

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Turkey’s president vows to rebuild Syrian churches destroyed in conflict

Mr Erdogan made the statement during a press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

It comes after Mr Erdogan launched an operation last month to attack Kurdish fighters in the battle against Islamic State, due to the US pulling troops from the region.

 

The Turkish government claims the Kurdish fighters are terrorists themselves. The conflict has caused several thousand Syrians to be displaced. They have also been accused of targeting innocent civilians.

A reporter asked the Turkish president during the press briefing: “With the — what you’re calling a realignment along the northern Syria border, a lot of Christians in that region are feeling very vulnerable.  Groups on the ground are saying that attacks on Christians have increased under this new policy.  And that they’re not feeling safe any longer.  Can you guarantee that the Turkish government will also protect Christians in that region? “

President Erdogan replied: “On the contrary, Keldani, Yazidi, and Christian minorities is an area where we’re especially sensitive about, and we have certain, different plans — whether it be the ones remaining on the side of Syria — whose sanctuaries have been destroyed, whose churches had been destroyed — will see their sanctuaries getting revived and their churches will be reconstructed so that they can go back and…

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Christian children’s charity releases general election calls to action

The organisation has urged all candidates to invest to end violence against children around the world, protect the UK international aid budget, and keep the Department for International Development (DFID) independent.

World Vision UK wants candidates to keep the UK as a country that not only focuses on its own needs, but is committed to helping vulnerable communities across the globe.

Gavin Crowden, head of policy, advocacy and campaigns for World Vision UK highlighted the plight children face around the world due to factors including conflicts and natural disasters.

He said as the number of children displaced rises; the world faces potentially catastrophic challenges.

“Violence affects more than a billion children around the world every year – that’s one in two children worldwide. About a quarter of the world’s children live in conflict- and crisis- affected countries, making them especially vulnerable to abuses like child marriage, dangerous labour and sexual exploitation,” he said.

“UK aid has saved countless lives in countries ill-equipped to protect citizens from humanitarian disasters. Significant progress has been made in reducing extreme poverty, yet there is still such a long way to go,” Crowden said.

“Britain should be proud of its commitment to this lifesaving work, and yet overseas aid – as often during times of political uncertainty – is under threat.”

World Vision UK stated that despite the “excellent reputation” of…

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Vicar’s birthday ruined after burglars steal irreplaceable jewellery, feed dog glass

Rev Phillip Owen said the robbers got away with almost £55,000 of gems in May which he was going to give to his grandchildren.

“It was a big day but it was absolutely ruined,” Rev Owen said, referring to his birthday.

 

“My grandchildren came down and were traumatised with the mess that was here and the state their grandmother was in.

“The dog was badly beaten. It was terrible.”

Keiran Bunce, 19 and Marcus Thomas, 30, admitted the charges and got two years and eight months and four years and six months.

Leon Rowlands, 20, was found guilty after trial and given 18 months.

South Wales Police

Keiran Jason Bunce (left) Leon Solskjaer Rowlands, and Marcus Lee Thomas

Rev Owen said the burglars took glass they had smashed from a window to get in the house; put it in meat they had got from his fridge and then fed it to his dog, Rusty.

The vicar also said the dog was beaten on the back of his legs and ribs and was left limping. Thankfully, a vet confirmed the dog didn’t ingest any of the glass and has now fully recovered from the attack.

Rev Owen, from Taibach, Neath Port Talbot, said the men had started raiding the house, but when they found a safe, they focused on that.

He said one piece of jewellery was 100 years old and most of them are extremely rare.  

“The stones were more valuable than the gold of the rings,” the vicar…

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Five Ways Your Church Budget May Be Broken

Podcast Episode #589

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Many churches are in the midst of their annual budgeting. Thom and Sam discuss five ways your church budget might be broken. Included in this episode are topics like processes, facility costs, personnel costs, and resourcing outward-focused ministry.

  1. The budgeting process is old and stale.
  2. The church has not seriously examined its facility costs.
  3. The church has not seriously examined its personnel costs.
  4. Expenditures are almost all inwardly-focused.
  5. There is little thought given to Jerusalem. (Acts 1:8)

Other highlights:

    • Zero based budgeting forces your church to re-think every expenditure.
    • The longer you defer church maintenance costs the more expensive they may become.
    • Making personnel changes in a church doesn’t always mean deleting positions. Personnel changes could mean changing job descriptions.
    • Senior Pastor’s can’t ask staff members to be outwardly focused if they don’t resource them to be outwardly focused.

Resources:


Episode Sponsors

The mission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. The school offers more than 40 different degree programs, including the new Master of Arts in Church Revitalization in partnership with Church Answers and the Revitalization Network. This 37-hour degree is designed to help students move established churches…

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Pope tells tech giants to take responsibility for protecting children online

Speaking at the Promoting Digital Child Dignity conference in the Vatican, Francis admitted the “painful and tragic experience” of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church gave it a sense of “duty to approach these issues with a long-term vision”.

“There is a need to ensure that investors and managers remain accountable, so that the good of minors and society is not sacrificed to profit,” he said.

 

“For the sake of advancing the development of the internet and its many benefits, companies that provide services have long considered themselves mere suppliers of technological platforms, neither legally nor morally responsible for the way they are used.”

He continued: “It is now clear that they cannot consider themselves completely unaccountable vis-a-vis the services they provide for their customers.

“So I make an urgent appeal to them to assume their responsibility towards minors, their integrity and their future.”

The Pope said the balancing of free expression and privacy online is a “crucial aspect” of digital life and raised fears about increased use of encryption which would make “any control extremely difficult, if not impossible”.

“A fitting balance must be found between the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression and the interests of society, so as to ensure that digital media are not used to perpetrate criminal activities against minors,” he warned.

Last…

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Christian Affiliated College Denies Pro-Life Student Group’s Request to Display Crosses for Aborted Babies

Christian Affiliated College Denies Pro-Life Student Group’s Request to Display Crosses for Aborted Babies



A Christian affiliated college has banned the display of crosses to mark the victims of abortion, calling the gesture “divisive.”


According to The College Fix, Rocky Mountain College in Montana denied the campus group “Young Americans for Freedom” from erecting the memorial. “I didn’t think it was really going to be a problem at all,” said Emily Kokot, treasurer and secretary for the group, noting that for the past few years, an affiliated group would put up a “9/11 memorial where we put flags up on the ground on the campus outside.”


However, Dean of Student Life Brad Nason believes that this is a far more controversial issue and told Kokot that the school must “draw the line at public displays of divisive topics.”


“We have effectively eliminated every student’s ability to choose to engage or not engage with that issue,” Nason added, noting concern that the mere presence of the display could signify a college endorsement.


Adam Goldstein, program officer in FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, told The Fix that this notion is completely ridiculous.


“I think the idea that people can’t separate out actions of college students from actions of a college is naive,” he explained. “I think we all know that college students engage in activism and no one is confused that institutions are…

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Israel, Islamic Jihad in Gaza Agree on Ceasefire after Days of Violent Attacks

Israel, Islamic Jihad in Gaza Agree on Ceasefire after Days of Violent Attacks



Two days after violent attacks broke out between Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Israel, the region called a truce brokered by Egypt and the UN.


The BBC reported that though rockets were fired out of Gaza five hours after the truce, the area has otherwise remained quiet. Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted the incoming rockets.


“Egypt and the UN worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around Gaza from leading to war. The coming hours and days will be critical. ALL must show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed. The Middle East does not need more wars,” Nickolay E. Mladenov, a UN Middle East peace envoy, tweeted.


The conflict began on Tuesday when Israel completed a successful attack on Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Over the course of two days, around 450 rockets were fired out of Gaza toward Israel while Israel launched strikes from the air. Thirty-four Palestinians were killed and 111 were injured. There have been no casualties in Israel, though 63 Israelis sought medical treatment.


According to the Jerusalem Post, Islamic Jihad demanded Israel meet three conditions before agreeing to a truce: discontinue assassinations, stop firing on the March of Return demonstrations, and lift the siege on Gaza.


The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that 25 of the fatalities in…

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Jaguars QB Nick Foles: ‘I’m Going to Glorify’ Christ in the ‘Good or Bad’

Jaguars QB Nick Foles: ‘I’m Going to Glorify’ Christ in the ‘Good or Bad’



A well-known NFL quarterback says he learned to have joy during an injury this season and that it made him a better person and helped him grow in his faith. 


Jacksonville quarterback Nick Foles is scheduled to start Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, his first time in the lineup since he injured his shoulder the opening week of the season.


Foles won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles and signed a four-year contract with the Jaguars in May, although he was quickly sidelined when he was hurt. Backup Gardner Minshew started in his place.    


“When I felt this thing break [opening week] and I was going into the locker room, I just realized, you know, ‘God this wasn’t exactly what I was thinking when I came to Jacksonville.’ Obviously, you come here and you want to create a culture and impact people but at the end of the day [I said,] ‘God, if this is the journey you want me to go on, I’m going to glorify you in every action, good or bad,’” Foles told reporters this week. “I still could have joy in an injury. People hear that and say that’s crazy, but … when you believe in Jesus and you go out there and you play … that changes your heart.”


Foles, who is known within the league as an outspoken Christian, referenced his Super Bowl win.


“When I hoisted the Lombardi Trophy – the reason I’m smiling was [because] my faith was in…

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Church of Scotland ‘addressing’ complaints that church minister who heckled Corbyn posted anti-gay tweets

The Labour Party has pointed to a series of controversial past tweets from Rev Richard Cameron, who posted that “homosexual behaviour is a sin” and “allowing children to change their gender is wicked”.

 

In September he tweeted: “Christ has the power to help and change anyone. Obviously many gays hate this because want to carry on in their perversion.”

He also shared a series of controversial views on Islam, describing terrorism as “a problem Islam needs to deal with”, a full face veil as “oppressive and unBritish” and the prophet Muhammad as “a violent man”.

Labour revealed the minister’s tweets after Rev Cameron, the minister at Scotstoun Parish Church, branded Jeremy Corbyn a “terrorist sympathiser” on Wednesday.

As the Labour leader was entering the Heart of Scotstoun community centre in Glasgow, he stopped to tell reporters about a scarf he was wearing, which had been given to him by representatives of the Who Cares Scotland charity.

But he was interrupted by Rev Cameron who shouted: “I thought you’d be wearing your Islamic jihad scarf.”

He added: “Who’s going to be the first terrorist invited to the House of Commons when you’re prime minister?”

Footage of the encounter attracted much attention online.

Green MSP Ross Greer, a member of the Church of Scotland, tweeted: “Bigoted nonsense directed at Corbyn today doesn’t represent the @churchscotland. The bigoted…

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